4.  The applicant, Mr Tomasz Piotrowski, is a Polish national who was born in 1966 and lives in Łódź.
Criminal proceedings against the applicant and his detention on remand
5.  On 30 April 2003 the applicant was arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting robbery committed by an organised criminal group. On that day the Łódź District Court (Sąd Rejonowy) remanded him in custody. It relied on the reasonable suspicion that the applicant had committed the offence with which he had been charged. The court also considered that there was a risk that he might obstruct the proceedings since evidence given by him was contradictory to the material gathered by the prosecution. It referred to the likelihood of a severe prison sentence being imposed on the applicant and the need to secure the proper conduct of the proceedings.
6.  On 18 July 2003 the Łódź Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy) extended the applicant’s detention until 30 September 2003. It relied on the likelihood of a severe prison sentence being imposed on the applicant and the complexity of the case. It also stressed that his detention was justified by the need to obtain further evidence, in particular to obtain expert reports, to take evidence from witnesses and to arrest all members of the criminal group.
7.  On 26 September 2003 the Łódź Regional Court extended the applicant’s detention until 17 February 2004. It relied on the reasonable suspicion that the applicant had committed the offence with which he had been charged. It referred to the complexity of the case and the need to obtain further evidence, in particular to obtain expert reports and take evidence from witnesses. It further considered that the need to secure the proper conduct of the proceedings justified holding him in custody.
8.  The applicant’s detention was subsequently extended by the Łódź Regional Court on 23 January 2004. The court repeated the grounds given in its previous decisions.
9.  On 9 March 2004 a bill of indictment was lodged with the Łódź Regional Court. The bill of indictment comprised eighty-three charges brought against seventeen defendants. The applicant was charged with several counts of aiding and abetting robbery committed by members of an organised criminal group.
10.  On 16 March and 1 December 2004 the Łódź Regional Court extended the applicant’s detention. The court relied on the grounds stated in the previous decisions.
11.  On 26 April 2005 the Łódź Court of Appeal (Sąd Apelacyjny) extended the applicant’s detention until 31 August 2005. On 10 August the court ordered that the term should be extended further, until 31 December 2005. On 29 December 2005 it ordered that the applicant be kept in custody until 31 March 2006. The next decision was given on 22 March 2006; it extended the applicant’s detention until 30 June 2006.
12.  The court relied on the reasonable suspicion that the applicant had committed the offences with which he had been charged. It also referred to the likelihood of a severe prison sentence being imposed on him and to the complexity of the case.
13.  On 28 June 2006 the Łódź Court of Appeal extended the applicant’s detention until 31 August 2006. The court repeated the grounds given in the previous decisions.
14.  In the course of the investigation and the court proceedings the applicant made numerous, but unsuccessful, applications for release and appealed, likewise unsuccessfully, against refusals to release him and against decisions extending his detention.
15.  Between 25 October 2004 and 16 August 2006 the court held seventy-six hearings.
16.  On 23 August 2006 the Łódź Regional Court convicted the applicant as charged and sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment and a fine. He appealed. The applicant’s detention was subsequently extended on two occasions.
17.  On 20 December 2007 the applicant was released from detention.
18.  The proceedings are currently pending before the court of second instance.